Florida's Space Coast features 72 miles of coastline, including the Canaveral National Seashore. Canaveral National Seashore is the last undeveloped stretch of beach on the East Coast and runs for 23 miles from South Volusia to Canaveral Air Force Station. Sebastian Inlet and Sebastian River is Brevard's Southern boundary. Brevard's population is on the brink of 500,000.

   Brevard is called the Space Coast because it is home to Kennedy Space Center and aerospace industry giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and United Space Alliance. A multitude of other high tech industries are located on the Space Coast, like Harris Corporation, Rockwell Collins, DRS Optronics, Bulova and other communications, Defense and aerospace firms.

   Sharing its property with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, our Space Center [KSC] has always been "green" -- technology and nature at its best! The world's most advanced technologies launch people and satellites into space while earth's oldest living reptiles warm themselves in the sun.

   Brevard County is home to Florida Institute of Technology and a branch campus of University of Central Florida, as well as a host of private Business Colleges and specialty schools. Port Canaveral is home to Disney Cruise Lines and others, including industrial interests.

   The Banana River between the Central beaches and Merritt Island provides a mecca for water sports, including the "Thousand Island" wildlife preserve. The Intracoastal Waterway runs through the Indian River, linked to the Port Canaveral locks by a canal along the SR528 BeachLine. Central Brevard waterfront property is "quadruple" as beachside has a river side, Merritt Island has Banana River to East, and Indian River to West, and mainland has East bank of Indian River.

   Primary North-South highways are Interstate 95, US1 parallel to the Indian River, and A1A on the beachside. East-West connectors are US 192 running from Indialantic West to St. Cloud - Kissimmee, SR520 from Cocoa Beach to Hwy 50 in East Orange County, SR528 - the BeachLine - from Cape Canaveral to Orlando International Airport and I-4, and SR46 from US1 in Mims to Sanford. Florida East Coast Railroad is within sight of US1 through most of its North-South dissection of Brevard. Melbourne Airport facilitates commercial jet traffic, and Space Coast Executive Airport near Titusville accommodates private business jets.

   Ron Jon's continues being "bullish on Brevard" expanding beyond it's enlarged 24 hour Cocoa Beach "Surf Shop" to its "Caribe Resorts" at Cape Canaveral.

   Melbourne Square Mall recently added Dick's Sporting Goods, and Circuit City to its anchor base. The Mall blazed the trail over three decades ago for the US192 corridor to become the major shopping destination it is today. Once a pasture and outdoor theater on the outskirts of town, it is now the hub of a "Shoptropolis" with a BJ's Wholesale Club to the South [Palm Bay Rd], a nearby Best Buy, Sports Authority, Home Depot, and Lowe's. Proceeding West to I-95, LaZboy, Kane's Furniture and Haverty's has joined the corridor, along with Ashley Furniture, Cinema 16 and Sam's Club near I-95.

   The "Florida pioneer" Duda family's Viera community continues to grow exponentially. It is home to two new Elementary Schools, Viera High School, the County Government Center, Justice Center, Space Coast Stadium [Milwaukee Brewers Spring Camp], and a V.A. clinic. A new regional hospital has just been approved for the Health Park at SW Viera.

   Infrastructure relief is planned for South Brevard from an Ellis Road extension with I-95 exchange and a West beltway to Palm Bay Rd / Malabar Rd. The Pineda Cswy extension to I-95 and South Viera will alleviate Wickham Rd congestion in the Suntree / East Viera area. The Viera Blvd extension and I-95 overpass is now complete, and will divert some bottleneck congestion from Wickham Road being the only access to Viera from the South. The recent I-95 Exit 209 at Port St. John has opened a commercial corridor of new construction.

   Titusville is receiving a boost of shopping choices, with the addition of Target and Home Depot near the junction of Hwy 50 and Columbia Blvd [SR405]. They join WalMart SuperCenter and Lowe's in the same area. [East Orange County residents in the Christmas area may find it more convenient to head East to Brevard to shop, rather than face the increasing congestion on W Hwy 50 near the 408 [toll rd] extension.]

   Brevard County was established by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1854, actually signed into law by the Governor early in 1855. The initial boundaries of the new county incorporated all of what had been St. Lucie County. At that time, Brevard extended southward along the state' s Atlantic east coast all the way down to present day Miami-Dade County in south Florida. The origin of the county's name is widely attributed to Theodore W. Brevard, Florida Comptroller at the time of the county's creation. In the decades after it was first established, the boundaries of Brevard County were amended several times. It took on its current shape in 1905.